Previous iterations of the BCAR/CRD liaison have come and gone before. While past committees have always been productive from an engagement perspective, they often fell short of providing real, practical solutions. Moreover, while the dialogue was beneficial for those who served on the committee, there was little benefit (if any) for the wider industry audience.

This new committee is approaching things from a different perspective. It is being facilitated by ARA Senior Advisors Ken Hendricks and David Ribeiro, who are employing a more methodological approach than what has been utilized in the past. Open dialogue is always good for airing grievances, but without some type of methodological analysis, everything ends there, and nothing is resolved.

The first step with this new committee process was to create an inventory of all grievances on both sides. We listed roughly 60 outstanding issues with some going back 20+ years. Some of these, however, were new issues that appeared only after 91大黄鸭 chose a new system for collision shops to search for recycled parts鈥攏amely, replacing the Allied system with Car-Part.com.

The switch to Car-Part.com was rushed and was implemented without proper consultation with industry. 91大黄鸭 even conceded as much. However, it is the system we have now, so we must make the best of it, which is why we felt it was crucial for representatives from Car-Part.com to have a seat on the committee and join the discussion.聽

Although many issues were brought forward initially, they could all be listed under one of three primary categories: problems resulting from improper or little communication, quality control issues, or problems resulting from a lack of policy or standard business practice within the industry. Categorizing these grievances under a few common causes reduced this list to a few key variables.

Our next step was to go through the entire recycled parts process and examine the process each step of the way. This next step was important, as it allowed both sides to hear from each other. There were many points of contention throughout the entire process. Some of these have been long-standing issues, issues around quality, the wrong part being delivered or ordered, returned parts, and many others. While some of these issues can be solved through technology or policy, most come down to either lack of communication or inefficient business practices. Having clear standards will help, but the execution of those standards is often problematic, particularly if the outcomes are not clear.

Perhaps as no surprise, the biggest issue facing the recycled parts procurement process is pre-pricing parts on the Ca-Part.com platform. Accurate pricing has always been a challenge for a myriad of reasons, but it has certainly moved to the forefront of the discussion since 91大黄鸭 replaced the Allied system with Car-Part.com. Some recyclers do inventory and price their parts to varying degrees, yet many others still use the fall back of 鈥渃all for price.鈥� There are many pros to pricing your parts on the system, but recyclers also list reasons against a procurement process based solely on price. Shops, on the other hand, complain that having to constantly call for a price is inefficient and antiquated given the technology of today.聽聽

91大黄鸭 has responded by enacting a policy that limits the number of calls a shop will have to make in the absence of pricing. They may take this policy even further to persuade recyclers to list pricing on the system. But as mentioned before, it is one thing to create policy and another to implement it. Ultimately it will have to come down to what makes the best sense for the industry, the customer, and for the individual business owner. Before rushing into any policy decision, it is important to fully understand the issue and consider all sides.

This, then, is the objective for our newly formed committee. It is our aim that after our initial dialogue we can begin to bring some resolve to some of these issues. Resolution will come through a combination of communication, suggested business practices, technological solutions, and deciding where we 91大黄鸭d policy. In cases where 91大黄鸭 policy is 91大黄鸭d, any suggestions would be jointly proposed by both parties. But by and large, this would be a last resort. Thus far, the newly formed committee has only met twice, with bi-monthly meetings scheduled for 2024.

Our plan for 2024 is to begin facilitated discussions for finding solutions to our issues. This will certainly mean meeting as a committee, but we will also try to obtain further feedback from the wider industry. This may involve surveys, hosting a webinar discussion, or simply engaging your liaison representatives.

We hope that the enthusiasm continues for these sorts of facilitated discussion across all ARA divisions.聽 It is one of the unique features of the ARA that we represent diverse industries under one umbrella, but it also relies on the level of engagement of industry. Stay tuned!

Some of the most frequent feedback we get is that shops want recyclers to price more parts. This is a complaint nationwide, but especially in British Columbia. If a part isn鈥檛 priced, the shop has to contact you to get a price. It鈥檚 a waste of your time! If you price the part in your inventory system, you’re answering the question once instead of a dozen times. You save yourself all those phone calls and instant messages. To be honest with you, many shops tell me they won’t even bother to call and ask the price鈥攖hey just keep scrolling to find a part that someone else did price (or they use a different kind of part such as OEM, aftermarket, or remanufactured).

Embracing genuine listening can transform our workplaces into spaces where everyone feels valued and seen. It is a fundamental building block of psychological safety鈥攖he experience of feeling included and safe to speak up, disagree openly, and communicate concerns without fear of repercussions. It is also a business imperative, because research shows that psychologically safe workplaces are safer, more productive, more profitable, and more attractive to top talent.

Resist Premature Solutions: It is crucial to resist the urge to jump in with solutions too quickly. Affording someone your full attention and really hearing them out communicates respect and value. This approach builds trust, gets to the root of challenges, and increases both the quality of solutions created and the buy-in of those who need to implement them.

Make All Voices Count: Research shows that women tend to speak less than men in work environments, are interrupted more often, and they are less likely to get credit for the ideas they present. These experiences cause women to feel undervalued and, over time, can cause them to contribute less. This directly impacts the bottom line as organizations with greater gender (and other) diversity are more productive, have higher profits and are more innovative. Ensure every person feels equally heard and valued can be as simple as a nod, asking a follow-up question, or taking time to call on everyone to contribute in a meeting. You will be pleasantly surprised with the insights they add.

The ARA is pleased to announce a significant update to the Lien on Impounded Motor Vehicle Regulation (Lien Regulation) in collaboration with RoadSafetyBC. We are proud to share that this development is a culmination of our years-long partnership with RoadSafetyBC, working to implement much-needed improvements to the program. Our close collaboration with the Government of British Columbia, specifically the Hon. Minister Farnworth, has played a pivotal role in achieving these advancements. In our ongoing mission to drive positive change, we are committed to pushing our industry forward, ensuring that advancements like these not only benefit our members but contribute to the overall growth and development of the automotive sector.

Announcement:

The Superintendent of Motor Vehicles is updating the Lien on Impounded Motor Vehicle Regulation (Lien Regulation) to include new services to provide relief to impound lot operators (ILOs) as work on the broader rate analysis continues.

Effective March 4, 2024, ILOs may bill for standby, recovery, loading and securing, clean up and additional services (in lieu of dollies) 91大黄鸭d; additional details are included below. Vehicles impounded on or after March 4, 2024, are eligible for the additional service charges. Vehicles impounded prior to March 4, 2024, must be calculated using the lien rates in effect at the time the vehicle was impounded.  These rates do not include standby, recovery, loading and securing, clean up or additional services (in lieu of dollies) 91大黄鸭d..

Services added to the Lien Regulation align with the results of the rates survey conducted in Fall 2023.  Additional services selected reflect the services that ILOs provide most frequently and have the most financial impact on an ILO鈥檚 business.

A printable web form invoice is available on the RoadSafetyBC ILO ; however, due to low interest, we have discontinued the paper copies of the Vehicle Impoundment Invoice booklets (MV2714).

Note: There may be a delay to the Lien Regulation update on the BC Laws website, please refer to RoadSafetyBC website for up-to-date rate information.

As a reminder, ILOs are 91大黄鸭d to bill according to the services and rates set out in the Lien Regulation for towing and storage to facilitate vehicle impoundments authorized by the Motor Vehicle Act.  Please refer to the Vehicle Impoundment Calculator found on the Impound Lot Operator webpage, located under the forms and procedure manuals tab, if you wish to confirm that your billing is accurate.

Questions and feedback can be directed to the ILO Program at RSBCimpoundment@gov.bc.ca, or call 236-455-1932 within the Lower Mainland (toll free: 844-455-1932) during business hours.

Let鈥檚 start this conversation by asking a few questions. How many owners of independent automotive service facilities will have made enough money to retire by the time they are 65 years of age? How many shop owners could sell their businesses in the next five to 10 years for a profit? Besides making a living, did any shop owners get a return on their investment?

I know the answer for some is yes, but for the majority of shop owners I meet, the answer would have to be no. This is a hard thing to face and to talk about. The most common question we ask each other in this industry is: “How busy are you?鈥澛� What does busy mean? Does it mean that we have a lot of cars to work on, or does it mean that the owner is busy putting out fires?聽 The questions should be: How are your profits? What are your returns? Do you have time off, and what is your stress level like?

Many times in life, we are so busy doing that we don鈥檛 have time to plan. We are so focused on the task at hand that we don鈥檛 look to the horizon of the future. By saying we are busy at our shop, we usually mean that we have lots of sales, or at least a lot of cars going through the shop.聽 How is it then that when we look at our bank account or our balance sheet, we wonder where all the money is? We may ask our accountant, and they may say, 鈥渃ut costs,鈥� and we wonder where to cut from.聽

A while ago I heard a great saying, 鈥淚t does not matter how much money you take in; it matters how much you keep.鈥� It seems obvious, but like many things in life, this is hard to accomplish. How can a shop with annual sales of a million dollars not show a profit at the end of the year? The reason is this鈥攖he owner focused on sales, not on productivity, gross profit, net profit, return on investment, and good tax planning.

In my last two articles, I discussed how to achieve net profits of 20%, and to accomplish those net profits, a shop needs a gross profit of 60%, and in order to achieve those gross profits, we need a technician productivity of 90%.

As I review those articles, I see that I have only touched on technician productivity, and this needs an in-depth study. I have mentioned the statistic that the average technician in the industry is only 54% productive, and I gave you a lot of hints on how to keep a technician productive by selling every tenth of a minute. Because we want to retire well, we need to become experts at implementing this practice.

And before all the technicians reading this article get upset by the statistics, we need to understand that productivity is primarily management鈥檚 responsibility. Technicians are primarily responsible for efficiency. Let me give you some definitions to clarify. 鈥淧roductivity is the ratio between how many hours a technician is available every day compared to how many hours management was able to keep him working on cars.鈥�

Here is an example鈥攊f a technician is available for eight hours, and they worked on vehicles for six hours, they were 75% productive. The other key factor is that management charge the clients for all those hours. 鈥淓fficiency is how long it takes a technician to do a job compared to how long it was sold for.鈥� For example, if a technician is assigned a work order that has four sold hours on it, and they do it in three hours, they are 133% efficient. The benchmarks we use in our training are 90% productivity and 125% efficiency.

Another way to look at this and succeed is to look at each hour that a technician is available as an inventory item. Because the majority of independent shops pay hourly, shop owners have already purchased eight hours at the beginning of each day. But unlike mechanical parts, they cannot be sold tomorrow if they are not sold today. The question we should be asking each other is not how busy we are, but 鈥淗ave you sold your entire labour inventory today?鈥�

Many shop owners try to hold technicians accountable by measuring the number of hours they bill in a day, yet both the owner and technician wonder why it never gets past a certain amount. Let鈥檚 look at the technician who billed six hours out of an eight-hour day. What happened to the lost 2 hours? How much time was spent by the technician ordering parts, looking up labour times, performing free parking lot diagnosis, and driving cars in and out of the bays? I could go on and on. Do you see how the technicians are working, just not on the right stuff? Your challenge is to learn the systems and procedures that capture your full labour inventory and sell it all.